


Twenty Increments in Time and Love

by anarchycox



Category: Kingsman (Movies)
Genre: 20 year relationship, Confusion, Harry Hart is a Kingsman, Harry Hart's boyfriend is MI-6, Long-Term Relationship(s), M/M, Secret Identity, Secret Relationship, Spying, happy ever after, merlin is just done, minor eggsy/tilde, neither knows this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-19
Updated: 2019-06-20
Packaged: 2020-05-14 11:47:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19272658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anarchycox/pseuds/anarchycox
Summary: Harry Hart has been in a relationship for twenty years, with a nurse. He of course hasn't, he's been in love with a 00 the whole time, who also believes Harry is a tailor. Only a great deal of confusion arises when Harry returns after V-day. Harry's partner thinks Harry is a plant, Eggsy thinks the man stalking Harry needs to be taken out, and Harry becomes convinced that Eggsy is compromised. A story that begins at the end, and ends at the beginning.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ashling](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ashling/gifts).



> my thanks to ashling and hurricanes for the absolutely incredible art, that inspired this story.


	2. Long Ago

**_20 Seconds Ago_ **

“What the fuck are ye gentleman doing?” Merlin roared as he went into Harry’s office. He stared at the three men in the standoff. “Harry stop pointing that gun at Eggsy, Eggsy stop pointing that gun at Lucas. And Lucas, I’ve never interfered in whatever the fuck you and Harry have going on, but you better put that fucking gun down from where it is pointed at Harry."

“No!” all three men shouted.

Merlin tossed his clipboard onto Harry’s desk, and ducked under a raised arm to stand in the middle of the very dangerous triangle. “Fine. Just fine.” He flicked open a grenade, and it started its countdown. “Down or we all die.” Every other man in the room knew it was no bluff, and they all dropped their guns. Merlin closed the grenade. “Now again, I ask, _what the fuck are ye gentleman doing?”_

 

**_20 Minutes Ago_ **

Eggsy had been tailing the man all day, he knew today was the day the bastard finally went for Harry. And that was not happening. He had spent a couple weeks now watching the man who was watching Harry, getting the measure of him. He was well fit sure, he had seen the guy working out, and handsome. He also was carrying at least three weapons, and when he was on his phone sometimes, it clearly wasn’t his phone but comms.

Gang. Foreign government. Hell, their own government. But this guy was clearly sent to assess Harry as Arthur, and he had been getting grimmer and grimmer over the last couple weeks. And the fake phone call he was taking in front of the shop had him looking upset.

Wait, upset?

Resigned, sure.

Cold, yeah.

Hell, he would have taken angry.

But the bloke who had been stalking Harry was clearly wiping a tear away. That wasn’t right. Why would he be crying? The guy put the phone away, and straightened his shoulders and there, there was the look that Eggsy expected. The cold you needed to kill. He crossed the street and went into the shop; Eggsy counted to five, and followed in. The shop was empty, guy had clearly been watching for Andrew to step into the back. Eggsy ran up the stairs, and kicked in the door to Harry’s office. In an instant, he had his gun out, pointed at the bastard sent to murder Harry. “You fucker,” Eggsy snarled. “You put that down or you are dead.”

“I’m sorry son, I don’t know who you are, but this needs to happen.”

“No, it doesn’t. And trust me old man, I’m faster on a trigger than you,” Eggsy said, and flicked the safety off. “Put your gun down.”

“I can’t do that. You don’t understand what he is. That is not Harry Hart.”

Eggsy wondered why the man sounded so broken. Just completely shattered. But the gun was steady. “Yeah, it is and you are going to stand down or die.”

“I died, when the real Harry Hart died on V-day,” the man said.

“That is Harry, and you are going to step back.” Eggsy heard a noise and froze. “Harry?” Harry had a gun pointed at him. What the fuck was going on?

“Eggsy, my apologies, I had hoped it wouldn’t come to this. But your actions have left me no choice. I cannot allow a compromised agent to act in the Kingsman.”

“What the fuck?” Eggsy shouted, and all three men barely blinked, guns trained on each other.

 

**_20 Hours Ago_ **

“Your highness, my apologies for disturbing you, but it is very important that I speak to Eggsy.” Harry was looking at the photos he had been taking of Eggsy the last week. Eggsy, lying about where he was going to be, why. An Eggsy who all of a sudden wasn’t spending his spare time in Harry’s office, like he had since Harry’s return. He had left three days ago, saying he had a rendezvous with Tilde. Harry called her personal number, that was only to be used in an emergency. Harry heard a noise through his phone. “Was that an elephant?”

“Yes, I am in Sri Lanka, working with the UN relief plans,” Tilde said. “I’ve been here two weeks, and have another to go. Eggsy is not with me. We meet for a break in Italy after I am done here, before I return home to deal with Parliament.”

“Have you spoken much with him, this week?”

“Harry, I have been wading through mass graves and dealing with infectious disease reports, and seeing what funding hospitals need. So no, I have not spoken to my boyfriend a lot this week.”

“My sincerest apologies, and hope that you have much success. You are an inspiration to all.”

“Not riding your dick Harry,” Tilde said, “No matter what drunken fantasies my Eggsy has.”

“I -” Harry could not figure out how to respond to that.

“Good you are speechless, remain such in the future if you call my number just to reach your own employee.”

Harry had been hung up on many times, but never by a princess. He didn’t like it any better than when anyone else did it. He put down his phone. He had known it was a lie, Eggsy had wiggled his eyebrows when he said rendezvous. It was a cheap look and Eggsy when he spoke of the princess spoke of her with awe. The man really needed more training in this sort of thing. But he had wanted to believe the lie, because the truth was breaking his heart.

Eggsy had been compromised.

He couldn’t pinpoint when for sure, probably a while ago, but Eggsy had begun putting the pieces in place very recently. Harry went to the decanter on the table, and poured himself a drink. He looked at the photos and the notes he had taken on Eggsy’s behaviour. He needed to call a meeting with Merlin. This needed to be discussed, and dealt with swiftly.

But Merlin was ruthless, in a way that horrified even Harry. If Merlin was convinced by Harry’s notes, he would execute Eggsy without a qualm. And Harry had to believe there was a way to bring Eggsy back into the fold.

The boy was too loyal, too earnest to have willingly flipped sides. It had to be blackmail. It was just logical. Perhaps someone was threatening Michelle and Daisy. Or knew something even they didn’t from Eggsy’s past. It was unlikely, Merlin knew everything. But then again, he didn’t. Merlin had never known about Lucas. He was as close as you could get to infallible but no one was truly such.

Harry had to save Eggsy from whatever he had found himself in, because no way did Eggsy want to bring harm to the Kingsman. He was Eggsy, he had saved the world, found Harry, achieved happily ever after. That man would not compromise himself or their mission.

He just needed to talk to Eggsy, and they’d get this sorted. Harry decided to head home, and think about it. He was sure that it would all be able to be cleared up. Only his confidence in that belief faltered when he realized that Eggsy was shadowing him home. He was decent but didn’t know quite what to do when Harry paused. It took him a minute to figure out what to do with himself, to blend in.

They’d really have to work on that.

Or not, it seemed he was likely going to have to kill Eggsy.

Harry kept himself composed, and tracked how Eggsy tracked him. It was annoying how obvious it was really. Perhaps Eggsy wanted to be caught. He didn’t even know. All he knew was that it was breaking his heart.

Eggsy stayed at the end of the lane when Harry went to his house, not like there was a place to hide closer. Harry unlocked the door and went in without tracing a triangle in the middle. Coming back from the dead had him letting go of his old superstitions.

They seemed so silly now.

 

**_20 Days Ago_ **

Lucas had gone on a date the night before, and it was perfectly fine. Conversation flowed, they flirted and danced and he was a handsome man.

But he wasn’t Harry.

His hair was cropped close, and all Lucas could think about was how Harry’s flopped when he forgot to get a haircut. For such a fastidious man, Harry regularly forgot to cut his hair. Lucas had liked to believe it was because he liked the curls and Harry did that for him. But he doubted it.

The man’s laugh wasn’t as rich as Harry’s when you actually managed to get Harry to laugh. The man was free with smiles and seldom laughed. It had taken 4 months after their first date for Lucas to hear a true laugh from Harry. He had fallen in love in that instant. But all the resources of MI-6 couldn’t find Harry Hart alive. And if they couldn’t that meant the man was dead. Q had tried hard, and Lucas believed him. Q had tried to give him faith, after all 007 was never dead when they thought he was, but Harry was a tailor and not a spy. Death was much more certain for him.

Lucas mourned. He took reckless risks on jobs, such that even 007 was checking on him. But he did not give a fuck. He thought of the million times he had almost told Harry the truth that he was MI-6, and not a nurse with Doctors Without Borders, but hadn’t because Queen and Country mattered most. The thousand lies he had told Harry, the hundreds of times he wanted to suggest they move in together, that they get married and he said nothing.

Just tried to make Harry laugh.

He had a few videos of Harry that he had taken, and he watched them over and over. One was Harry getting ready for work. Forget people taking off clothes, there was nothing sexier than his man getting dressed. It was so precise. He had to wear a suit for work and hated it. He was happiest in denim and ancient tee. Harry though, it seemed that each layer he put on brought him to his truest self. That a fully dressed Harry was somehow the most natural one. For their fifteenth anniversary he had finally let Harry make him a suit. He hated it slightly less than any other he wore.

There was video on a beach from one of the half dozen vacations they had managed to take. Harry’s pale skin always burned a bit. There was nothing cuter than a Harry annoyed with his peeling nose. That wasn’t true, the only thing cuter was how stuffy Harry got when you called him cute.

He had taken Harry to a range once, Harry had hated it. But had gone because Lucas had wanted him to. He complained the whole time, about the feel of the gun in his hand, its weight being odd and unacceptable. But Harry had still done it. He loved to complain, but always did as Lucas asked.

The date he had went on didn’t seem the type to bitch.

Lucas wished he could hear Harry complain one more time.

But the date had shown Lucas one thing. It was time to break into Harry’s house and take a couple momentos. He had seen a young man go in and out a few times, in a suit cut like Harry’s. Harry had mentioned that he was pretty sure he was going to take on an apprentice and Lucas figured it had to be this man. But no moving van, no lorry ever came and emptied Harry’s house.

It was absurd, but Lucas wanted the stuffed dog that he had yelled at Harry about for almost two decades. Couple other things too. Today was the day though he went to collect. He’d make it look like a burglary just to get the things he wanted. Things that were Harry.

The dog. A tie, the cologne.

It was dusk when Lucas went to the house, and his mind was racing so much that he for a moment didn’t recognize the ghost just a few paces away. And when he did it took all his training not to walk into the light post.

Harry.

He was wearing glasses with a blacked out eye, and a different suit than Lucas knew. But it was Harry. Lucas melted into the shadows and watched him.

Harry. His Harry.

Lucas wanted to reach out, run to him and hold him close. But it was in his nature to be cautious so he watched Harry. He hadn’t been by for a couple weeks, trying to pull away from the memories and wondered how long Harry had been back.  God he had missed that walk. No one walked quite like Harry. The one time he called it a swagger, Harry hadn’t responded to his texts for a couple weeks. The man had felt swagger was too arrogant a word, too flamboyant. Ungentlemanly.

Lucas always pointed him out for all that Harry talked about being a gentleman he sure as hell wasn’t one in bed.

 _On the contrary, a gentleman meets the needs of his partner. It is gentlemanly of me to be ungentlemanly_ , Lucas remembered. It might be his favourite thing Harry ever said to him.  He watched Harry walk up to his door, and started to move towards him.

Lucas wanted to hug him and say I love you, in the way they both avoided for so long. He smiled, ready to snog the fuck out of Harry, and Harry unlocked the door and went in the house. Lucas turned around and hurried away.

Harry hadn’t traced a triangle on the door.

Over 20 years he had known the man, and he had never once opened a door without tracing a triangle on it.

Whoever that was, it wasn’t Harry.

But he’d find out who that was, and deal with them.

 

**_20 Weeks Ago_ **

“Lucas,” Harry said when the man picked up. “I’m home.”

“Harry, you bastard, you said you’d be gone a bloody week. It’s been a month.”

“Yes, well it turns out we were correct about Ralph Lauren stealing our work, and unraveling that took a lot longer than anticipated. And then I had to go to Italy to fight with our button manufacturer. It has just been a mess and I have to go to California in a few days. Tell me you are in London,” Harry begged. He desperately wanted to see Lucas. In all the injuries he had sustained for the job, coma had actually not been on the list until now. When he had woken his first thoughts had been of his boyfriend.

“Not even a phone call, Harry?”

“I am sorry. Please let me make it up to you?” Harry lowered his voice. “I could do a very good job of making it up to you.”

“I have to leave for Pakistan in 50 hours. Which you would have known, if you had answered any of the emails I sent.”

Fuck, sometimes he thought about telling Lucas the truth, but King had it out for him enough as it was, and if he found out, he had no doubt that King would sanction him. And Merlin no matter that they were friendly would follow orders. So he kept quiet and dealt with fallout like this. It was only a little worse that the time both his legs had been broken in a ‘car accident’.

“I am truly sorry, my love,” Harry’s voice was quiet, sincere in a way it only ever was with Lucas. “I wish I had better excuses that just too busy that I was falling asleep and forgetting to contact you.” He took a breath. “I wish…”

“You never wish,” Lucas sounded so surprised. “A gentleman doesn’t wish, he makes the thing he needs, happen.”

Harry laughed a little. “You know by now every time that I say a gentleman does or doesn’t, I have completely made it up.”

“Oh really? You mean most gentlemen don’t say, _a gentleman always offers to rim his partner until his partner completely forgets their name_? Really, I am shocked.”

“I have missed you greatly.”

“I’ve perhaps missed my gentleman.”

“I assume you have meetings and packing for those 50 hours until you leave?” Harry said. “I wish you safe journeys Nurse St. John, and hope that we see each other soon. You amaze me.” Lucas had worked for Doctors without Borders as a nurse for as long as Harry knew him. The man had even been shot delivering vaccines, and he still kept the job. It humbled Harry how a civilian like that tried to save the world.

“What I need to do would only takes 30 hours. Need to go to the range, just to make sure I am okay. Want to come?”

“You know I hate those guns.” Harry knew that Lucas kept certification up because even though he was a part of a nonviolent group that had a policy against weaponry, that Lucas had general experience. Just in case. Harry approved of just in case. He had had a slightly disproportionate response when Lucas had been shot when he took a mission in the region that the incident had happened in.

“A gun is just a tool, Harry.”

“Tell you what, you do what you need to and when you are available, I’ll show you the exact sort of gun I do like holding.”

Lucas laughed and Harry smiled. He loved that sound. “That is definitely not something a gentleman says.”

“This one fucking does,” Harry replied and hung up. He went down to Andrew to plan what he would wear to meet Valentine. It had to be something that made a statement.

 

**_20 Months Ago_ **

“Well now isn’t that a pretty sight,” Lucas smiled down at Harry under him. “Missed you.” He ran his hand down Harry’s naked chest.

“Well you were the one gone for five months,” Harry chided.

“Disease outbreak, all hands on deck.” In truth he had been on a deep cover op. “Didn’t even have time to celebrate Purim. But a friend had a new baby arrive, and that was exciting. We saw lots of photos. He never stopped showing them, in fact.” It wasn’t a lie, Q did treat those damn cats like his babies. And 007 had started to do the same. Which believe him, he made fun of as they ran for their lives in Estonia.

“Mazel Tov,” Harry replied. “But perhaps a little less baby talk right now?”

“Oh, Harry, you don’t want to have my baby?” Lucas frowned. “It would be the culmination of our love. And such a beautiful baby.”

Harry rolled his eyes. “This is not becoming a thing.”

Lucas laughed, and stretched out on top of Harry. “Very well.” He kissed Harry’s thin lips again and again. “Missed you.”

“Missed you too,” Harry said and stretched out under him. “Toys just aren’t the same as you.”

“Oh, been playing have you?” They never discussed fidelity, and Lucas sometimes did on missions what had to be done, and he knew with all his travels for the shop that Harry could easily indulge. He didn’t mind, when he had Harry they were wholly each other’s, and that was enough.

“Broke a damn dildo in my arse, Lucas, trying to make it feel as good as you,” Harry complained. “Sheer luck I didn’t have to go to a&e.”

Lucas had been holding his weight up off Harry a bit, and the laugh that shot out of him caused him to flop on the man. “Harry,” he was helpless with this piece of information, didn’t even care if it was a lie. “Harry.” He was still laughing when Harry rolled them over so he was on top.

“Yes, yes, enjoying yourself?”

Lucas nodded, and laughed some more. The laugh cut off abruptly when Harry’s hand wrapped around his cock. He looked up at Harry and felt warm. “You are bloody gorgeous.”

“I am,” Harry replied, cocksure as ever, but Lucas saw the vulnerability under it, the body that wasn’t as perfect as it was when they first met, the glasses that he knew had invisible bifocals in them now.

“You are,” Lucas promised. “Harry Hart, I will go to my grave believing I am a lucky bastard for having you in my bed.”

Harry’s hand began to move up and down. “You should be because you are so very ugly.”

Lucas chuckled again, secure in his looks. He was a damn handsome man, and knew it. “Come here,” he pulled Harry down into a kiss. It was soft and slow because for once they had all the time in the world. It was rare both traveled so much, that when they had the time they were sloths. Sloths who had as much sex as possible.

Lucas rolled them back over and began to open Harry up, and took his time because Harry loved to be fingered. He watched the way Harry moved under him and wished he could take video of this. But Harry had that firmly in his not ever happening list. The closest was the strip tease that Harry had done for his 40th a few years ago and fuck Lucas watched that constantly when they were apart.

“Please,” Harry said, and arched up into him.

“Always,” Lucas swore, and put on a condom and slid into Harry. They moved together well from long practice and the orgasm was as soft and quiet as the whole afternoon had been. They drifted off wrapped in each other and then had a luxuriant shower before settling in in their robes with brandy and books.

“How can you read that drivel?” Harry asked.

Lucas looked at his book. “Because spy books are drivel. Don’t have to pay attention, our hero will always save the day.” Would that it worked like that in real life. All of them read them, to make fun of them, to appreciate the general perception of their job. “And really, you want me to read Henry James like you there, which I know you just read to be a pretentious git?”

“It has class and grace and shines a light on who we are, no matter when it was written.”

Lucas reached over and plucked the dust jacket off, and saw the Stephen King book. “Mmhmm,” was all he said.

“I like to be scared.”

Lucas grinned, and tossed his book over his shoulder. “How about I scare you then?”

Harry put his bookmark carefully in the book and laid it down on the table. “How about you do,” Harry said and smiled.

Lucas loved that smile.

 

**_20 years ago_ **

“Look you git, stop smiling like that would you?” the man yelled at him.

Harry kept up the genial air that was clearing annoying the rather handsome man. “I’m sorry that my smile is bothering you, but I don’t see myself doing anything about it.”

“We’re in jail.”

“We are, and this is a new experience. I choose to be amused by new experiences.” Harry looked him up and down. “But not a new experience for you.”

“Oi, and why do you think that? Because I’m black?”

“No, because of the way you are pacing but never turn your back to the bars. You know where everyone is in this holding area. Also the scar on your temple, that is a broken bottle scar, nothing else leaves that sort of edge. And finally the way you said ugh, the bloody filth was called really? It suggests that you have dealt with them before.”

“Lock up when I was 19. I was running, they thought that meant I had done something. Because I didn’t play nice, I was locked up.”

“Had you done something?”

“Nope,” Harry had to admit the smirk on the man’s face was attractive. The smirk widened, “Not that time.”

“Naughty sort are we?” Harry asked. He kept the faint smile on his face as he looked the man up and down. Very attractive and Harry was restless from a mission gone south. The man looked like the perfect sort to burn off the energy. “How naughty?”

“Bit too old to be the spot of rough for the gent who was slumming,” he said.

But Harry saw the man eyeing him up.

“You look like you have all sorts of interesting rough edges,” Harry’s smile grew, warmed. “And we’ll be out of here soon. Shame to waste the rest of the night.”

“How you figure we’ll be out of here?”

Harry held up his hand and his fingers began to tick off. Before he could reach five, several people hurried in. “Baron Larson, our sincere apologies.”

“Not at all,” Harry smiled a huge and false thing. “I tried to explain this was all a mix up. My compatriot here -” Harry looked at him.

“Lucas St. John,” the man said.

“Lucas and I were attempting to thwart an altercation, and I am afraid things spiraled. Is the waitress alright?”

“She is,” the officer said and opened the cell. “And gave us the explanation and we ran you and well…”

“Of course, you were just doing your job, and I am sure there are none finer.” Harry stood up and walked out. He gave the man a look, and he followed as well and in ten minutes they were out of the station.

“So Baron, do I bow, drop to my knees in thanks?” the man asked.  But he wasn’t walking away.

“My name is Harry Hart, and the only reason to drop to your knees for me is if we are in my bedroom. Would you like to see it?”

“Why the fuck not? You the posh sort that has a stick up your arse?”

“No, I’m the posh sort who within the hour will have your cock up my arse,” Harry replied. Yes, this Lucas would be perfect. A hard ride and then forgotten within forty eight hours. Harry held the door of the car waiting for them open. “Shall we?”

“We shall,” Lucas answered and slid into the car.


	3. And Far From Now

**_20 years from now_ **

Shall we?” Harry held out his arm, and bent down a bit.

“We shall,” Britta said up on her tiptoes. “Grandfather, you do such a lovely tea, I have been quite looking forward to it.”

“I have been bereft of your company my dear. Your Grandda? Do you know, he dips his biscuit in the tea?”

Britta gasped. “Grandda you surely don’t. That is quite rude. A gentleman only dunks in milk in the kitchen.”

Harry enjoyed the way Lucas glared at him. “Your highness, I have never been the gentleman your grandfather is.”

“You are forgiven,” and she gave a rather proper little royal wave. 

Harry would not laugh at the dramatics of it. They went to the parlour where Harry had a proper, and full tea service set out. He and Britta sat and talked and he quietly corrected her a couple times on manners. She had no royal duties yet, but she was being trained. Eggsy had fought hard to keep their children out of the limelight, but Britta had a strong personality and at nine wanted to be at her mother’s side. So they were beginning etiquette training beyond her excellent manners, and Eggsy maybe not getting along with his in-laws even now, had fired the tutor and the family summers in England meant lots of hidden lessons from Grandfather Harry.

Harry did not object.

Lucas sat there and stared at them, and dunked his biscuit into his tea.

“Now, when faced with a rude person at our refined table, how do we respond?” Harry asked Britta.

“Well, does he come from a culture where dunking a biscuit is acceptable?” Britta asked. “Just because it is different than we are accustomed to, doesn’t mean it is not right.”

“Wonderful,” Harry praised. “But we both know your Grandda’s idea of culture is doing whatever will annoy me the most.” There was no more perfect sound in the world than Britta’s laugh.

“In that case, we do nothing. We do not make ourselves better by putting others down,” she said firmly. “We are kind, and considerate in the face of even the worst insults until it is time to kick them in the junk.”

“Oh lord, what is your father teaching you?” Harry groaned.

“Actually, Harry, that lesson is from me,” Tilde said at the door.

“Mama, we are having tea. Grandda is pretending to have bad manners to teach me.”

“Yes, pretending,” Harry said, and watched the biscuit get dunked again only to fall into the liquid. He bit back a laugh.

“There more of those biscuits?” Eggsy asked. “Starving from the lunch thing we went to.”

“Of course, Daddy. Please join us,” Britta said and stood up, pointing to a chair. “Mama? Grandfather sets a beautiful table.”

“He appears to yes.” Tilde sat down, and winked at Lucas and dunked her biscuit into the tea.

“Heathens, all heathens except you my princess,” Harry said, and held her close when Britta jumped in his lap. He smiled at Lucas who saluted them with his cuppa with the soggy biscuit at the bottom.

 

**_20 months from now_ **

Lucas smiled at Harry. Fuck the man looked so good in his tux. The man sort of worked for a tailors so it made sense that the bespoke was perfect. He still couldn’t believe that he had believed that Harry’s gun calluses had been tailor’s calluses.

He supposed he had wanted to believe. Similar to how Harry wanted to believe he was a nurse. 

Spies were used to lying to others, not surprising they lied to themselves as well.

But that didn’t matter right now. What mattered was Harry promising to love, honour, and cherish him. That was very important. They were holding hands as they said their vows.

To keep Harry’s hands from shaking, to keep his from shaking.

They had sworn they didn’t want to get married, they were living together now, honest with each other. And then Lucas had gotten hurt and MI-6 wouldn’t let Harry see him. Lucas had been in a coma, but Q had shown him the footage afterwards.

He perhaps should have told his coworkers the Kingsman weren’t exactly tailors, but well, watching Harry beat the shit out of Bond, had been delicious; Lucas had gotten off to that video. It was perfection. After that though, they both agreed some changes needed to be made, even if Harry was in the field less, Lucas wasn’t ready to step into a more administrative role yet.

The most logical solution was marriage. But they had fought about it. Almost 23 years together and they fought over who was going to propose. Not just hey let’s get married. Harry had gone into full a gentleman should do you the honour of proposing to you, and that got Lucas’s back up and he wasn’t going to let the posh git go all out.

They hadn’t spoken for two weeks until Harry broke into MI-6, into the gun range, and attached a wedding band to Lucas’s favourite gun.

Lucas retaliated with a proposal at a party. He knew better than to do a sporting event, but Harry’s birthday party, that was the correct amount of put on the spot. He had been smart enough to stay the hell out of the wedding planning though. 

He had been relieved when it was a small affair, maybe thirty people who were armed with about 80 weapons. There were security men because there was a bloody princess at his wedding. He wished his parents had been alive to see their son get married with a princess in attendance. Never would have believed it. They would have swooned over Harry, his manners, the way he looked at Lucas when he thought Lucas couldn’t see him.

“No, I am not saying until death do us part, we are both far too gorgeous to die,” Harry told the officiant, and the whole group laughed. “I will however say that I will love, honour, and cherish Lucas St. John, until time is no more.”

Lucas thought that was perfect, repeated the words, and their kiss had way too much tongue for the moment but he had no fucks to give. He raised his foot high, and slammed it on the glass. Cheers and shouts of "Mazel tov" filled the air.

But just as Harry planned the wedding, Lucas had insisted on planning the reception. The music was actually good, and there were fairy lights everyone, because Harry looked beautiful by fairy light. There were kebabs and curry, and not a single sad bit of roast beef or over boiled carrot in sight. 

He lost count after his hundredth kiss of Harry.

He figured his parents would be less impressed if they saw him grinding on the dance floor with the Princess, but Eggsy god bless the boy, he could not keep up with her. And Harry would never grind.

He did dance to just the worst and sappy love songs with Harry. “Until time is no more?” he asked him when the crowd was just a couple people, and the staff was cleaning up.

“A trifle like death is not going to part us,” Harry said firmly. “Not us.”

Lucas kissed his jaw. “No, no it’s fucking not.” They swayed to the music until Eggsy suggested maybe they wanted to go to their hotel?

The boy really did have some good ideas.

 

**_20 weeks from now_ **

 

“The butterflies are staying,” Harry was quite firm on this. “They are far more attractive than that monstrosity.”

“It is an original Warhol,” Lucas said.

“It is tacky.”

“It cost me three years hazard pay, it is going up.”

“I will light it on fire.”

“I will light you on fire.”

Harry moved into Lucas’s space. “Oh I’d like to see you try. I survived a bullet to the head, do you really think a little bit of fire would kill me?”

“Oi you ain’t the mother of dragons, pretty sure you’d burn.”

Harry lost the thread. “Who?”

“Really?”

“I’m sorry is that from a rap song?” Harry frowned. It tickled at his mind but didn’t ring a huge bell.

“When have I ever listened to rap? And no Wu-Tang doesn’t count, genius transcends genre.”

“Kendrick Lamar?”

Harry was pleased to see Lucas stumble. “You know I like Kendrick Lamar?”

“I do,” Harry replied. Harry shrugged. “You sing him sometimes, when you do dishes. He is talented, though not especially for me.”

“Yes well, you secretly like stoner rock.”

Harry drew himself up. “I do not,” he was horrified.

Lucas grinned, and went to a cabinet/ pulled out all the Pink Floyd albums hidden in Mozart sleeves. “I know all your secrets.”

“No, you don’t,” Harry insisted. He couldn’t, could he? “You can’t know everything.”

“True, but I know enough,” Lucas replied. “Enough to know, you are going to let me hang the Warhol in...the guest bedroom.”

“A fair compromise, and half the butterflies will move to my study,” Harry offered. “I haven’t co-habitated with anyone since the military.”

“I haven’t either, Harry, beyond an occasion kip with someone on missions.”

“This might be a bad idea,” Harry worried. “We’ve spent a long time living apart.”

“And we’ve spent a long time keeping secrets. And we know the truth now. Harry, don’t you want more?”

“I am accustomed to not taking more,” Harry admitted. He looked at Lucas, the grey threads in his hair. The looked so good on him. There was a reason Harry dyed his hair. Tinted. Not dyed, a gentleman would never dye. “I have wanted...more, always. And never had it.”

Harry leaned into him when he came over. “Harry, take it. Just reach out and take it.”

Harry didn’t have very far to reach since Lucas was right there. He kissed him hard and they sank to the ground, kicking moving boxes out of the way. “I’ll move Mr. Pickle,” he promised.

“Nah, I like the creepy bugger. Someone to talk to in the bog.”

Lucas was perfect. Harry reached for his belt. “I adore you.”

Lucas grinned at him, “You’re alright.”

 

**_20 hours from now_ **

 

Lucas pushed Harry against the wall. “We need to have so many fucking conversations, Harry.”

“We do,” Harry kissed him. “A dozen, a thousand. But later?”

“Damn right, later,” Lucas agreed, and was ripping the bespoke suit off Harry. “Can you even sew?” It was the one thing he wanted to know.

“Not a fucking bit,” Harry said and bit at his throat. “Unless it is a quick field dress of a knife wound.”

“God, that is fucking sexy.”

“Do you even know how to take blood pressure?” Harry asked.

Lucas had Harry’s shirt undone and his fingers were clumsy as they began to work on Harry’s belt. “Actually, yes. I am certified in a few different types of first aid, and have some basic medic training.”

“Huh,” Harry looked at him.

“What?” Lucas stopped. “Oh, fuck Harry, tell me we are not having one of those conversations right now?”

“You were one of the last things I thought of, before they took over my mind, before I died.”

Lucas pressed his forehead against Harry’s. “I guess we are talking about it.” He had been really looking forward to fucking his boyfriend. “I was?”

“A woman confronted me and I mentioned my black Jewish boyfriend, though for annoyance purposes you became a military abortion doctor.”

“What the fuck is wrong with being a nurse? My mum was a nurse.” Lucas was rather affronted by this. “Plus, if she was that sort of bigot nurse would have driven it home more than doctor. Unless you’ve always been disappointed I wasn’t a doctor?”

“You aren’t a medical professional at all,” Harry pointed out. “You are a spy.”

“Stick with the topic at hand. What’s wrong with me being a nurse?”

“Nothing!” Harry proclaimed. “I’m just trying to tell you my last thoughts were of your stubborn arse.”

“Men can be nurses, you posh git,” Lucas snapped.

“I know, I’m sorry,” Harry sighed. 

“Okay then,” Lucas nodded. “Now tell the truth what your last thought was.”

“You were my second to last thought,” Harry said into the silence. “My last thought was just, I am sorry.”

“For what?” Lucas pulled them over to the chair, and sat down, pulled Harry into his lap. “What could you have to be sorry for?”

“That I didn’t stop him. That I lost myself. That I was horrid to Eggsy, that I was never there for you like I wished to be. That maybe everything I have ever done, ever believed was never enough.”

“Oh, Harry, you are very much enough,” Lucas promised, and pressed soft kisses to him. “For me, for the world. You are enough.”

“I want to be.”

“You are,” Lucas swore. “Let me show you?” He wrapped his hands around Harry. “Let me take care of you, love.”

Harry nodded and Lucas began to kiss his more and stroke the skin that had been exposed. They stayed on the chair and used hands and kisses and brought each other off. “So, secret spy?” Lucas asked when they had their breath back. “You really save the world seven times?” 

Harry smiled slowly at him. “No, it was eight.”

“Bet I was cooler when I did it.”

“Oh I will take that bet.”

 

**_20 minutes from now_ **

“Okay, so sorry I thought you were going to kill your boyfriend. Hi, I’m Eggsy by the way?” Eggsy held his hand out to Lucas.

Lucas did not look impressed.

“So, MI-6? That’s cool. Do you guys have lasers? We don’t have lasers. Lasers would be cool.”

Still nothing. The guy was pretty intimidating looking. “So you and Harry huh? Long time. Hoping me and my girl can manage a long time. She travels a lot and is really busy with work. But I’d follow her to the ends of the world.”

“Oh what’s she do? Spy too?”

Yeah, Eggsy knew you could always draw someone in talking about love. “Princess. Saved her when I saved the world. I’m the one who stopped Valentine. Just so you know.” He grinned, showing off a bit for Harry’s boyfriend. Wanting to impress him.

“That’s nice.”

“I saved the world, bit more than nice.”

“Talk to me again when you’ve saved it four times.”

“Harry’s saved it seven,” Eggsy muttered. He looked between Lucas and Harry. “So I still don’t understand why you thought Harry was a robot or something?”

“Didn’t trace a triangle on his door.”

“Superstition seemed foolish after surviving a bullet to the head at point blank range. It had served its purpose.”

“That what happened to the eye?”

“Yes,” Harry said. 

Eggsy watched the two men move closer together. “So you got any stories about Harry you want to share?” He looked between them, eager to learn more about his mentor.

“Eggsy?” Harry’s voice was firm.

“Yeah?” Eggsy smiled at him.

“You are dismissed.”

“No, I don’t have to be anywhere for a bit.”

The two men glared at him, and Eggsy finally got the hint. “Oh right. I’m just going to go...somewhere.”

“Good, go there and stay there,” Lucas said.

“Bit rude.”

“You were going to kill me.”

“You were going to kill Harry.” Eggsy frowned. “And Harry you were going to kill me? That’s rudest of all.”

“I will apologize thoroughly later,” Harry promised. “But I would really like to talk to the man who has been the love of my life for two decades? Alone?”

“Aww, old guy, love it’s so cute,” Eggsy said, mostly to annoy them. Which maybe wasn’t the best choice as they both stepped towards him. He ran out of the room, fully understanding why Merlin had left so quickly.

 

**_20 seconds from now_ **

Merlin sighed as all three men began to talk at the same time. “Shut up!” he shouted. He tried to figure out the easiest place to start. “Eggsy why were you going to kill Harry’s boyfriend?” Eggsy wouldn’t be filled with the bravado the two older men would. He still was listening to Merlin. He loathed that that was likely to be stripped away soon.

“Harry’s boyfriend?” Eggsy winced. “He’s been following Harry, so I’ve been following him. Figured he was a Valentine lackey, or some dude looking revenge for something. So was keeping an eye on him.”

“So you weren’t following me,” Harry realized. “You weren’t compromised, you were trying to keep me safe.” 

Merlin pinched the bridge of his nose. “Like Eggsy would ever be compromised, you colossal nitwit.”

“Wait, you said boyfriend. You know about Lucas?” 

“Of course I do, you’ve been shagging the MI-6 agent for what twenty years? I figured it out 16 years ago.” Merlin looked at him. “And Lucas, Harry is changed but I have run all the relevant tests, he is indeed Harry Hart, Kingsman spy.”

“MI-6?” Harry shouted.

“Spy?” Lucas stared at him in horror. “You hate guns.”

“No, he hates any gun not his,” Merlin replied. He looked between the two men. “Cut the act. It’s cute that you two role play that you don’t know about each other, but right now it is exhausting.”

“He is a nurse,” Harry said faintly.

“Tailor,” Lucas agreed.

Merlin hung his head. “You two honestly didn’t know?”

“How the fuck did you?” Harry asked.

“My bloody job, isn’t it?” Merlin snapped.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Harry snapped back.

“Because I didn’t want to kink shame whatever it was you had going on.” Merlin looked at all three men. “Okay, Harry and Eggsy are private spies for Kingsman. They are good men, that is really Harry, and this is his protege. You are Lucas from MI-6 and have been with Harry for decades. You two love each other, which makes me question your sanity but here we are. No one is going to kill anyone today unless it is me, for everyone being an idiot and not actually using me to solve their problems, like they are supposed to. Now, any questions?” The three men shook their heads and Merlin bent and collected the fallen guns. “Good. Now I am going to go do my fucking job. Get yourselves sorted.”

He left and debated dragging Eggsy with him, because Harry and Lucas needed a moment alone. But he decided Eggsy was Harry’s problem.

He needed a fucking drink.

  
  



End file.
